Mother kills 5 children...innocent father gets billed for costs...only in Belgium

Life is more than a little strange in this country, so although this story doesn't surprise me a bit, it does make for a daily dose of humour.

A Belgian man has protested at being asked to pay for the prosecution of his ex-wife who killed their five children, a local newspaper reports.

"I am disgusted and revolted," Bouchaib Moqadem told Le Soir newspaper.

Genvieve Lhermitte was sentenced to life in prison in December 2009 for murdering their son and four daughters while Mr Moqadem was on holiday.

Belgium tries to recover the cost of its prosecutions from those convicted but Lhermitte is insolvent.

So the state has instead sent the 72,743 euros ($97,000; £65,000) bill to Mr Moqadem.

It says the money should come from Lhermitte's share of the sale of their house.

Mr Moqadem's lawyer has reportedly asked for the bill to be written off.

Belgium Newspapers sue Google for 47 million

Who knew that Belgian newspapers were used for anything except toilet paper or fish wrap. I guess there is one thing that the the Flemings and Walloons can agree on....sue the guy with the deep pockets.

Belgian newspapers are seeking more than 30 million euros ($47 million) from Google Inc., accusing the U.S. Internet giant of using articles without permission for two years, their representatives said Wednesday. STORY